I am a Senior Political Contributor at Forbes and the official 'token lefty,' as the title of the page suggests. However, writing from the 'left of center' should not be confused with writing for the left as I often annoy progressives just as much as I upset conservative thinkers. In addition to the pages of Forbes.com, you can find me every Saturday morning on your TV arguing with my more conservative colleagues on "Forbes on Fox" on the Fox News Network and at various other times during the week serving as a liberal talking head on other Fox News and Fox Business Network shows. I also serve as a Democratic strategist with Mercury Public Affairs.

4/09/2012 @ 1:47PM4,350 views

Are The Public Employee Unions Set To Self-Destruct In Wisconsin Walker Recall?

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hopes that the Democratic primary to choose a candidate to challenge Gov. Scott Walker in the upcoming Wisconsin recall election could remain a dignified affair were dashed last week as some of the state’s public employee unions decided to get down in the mud in an attack on one of the leading Democratic candidates.

The unions, who are backing former Dane County Executive, Kathleen Falk, circulated a video to members attacking Falk’s leading opponent for the nomination, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. The video suggests that Barrett is a supporter of Scott Walker’s anti-collective bargaining legislation.

The false and misleading attack has led to the state’s largest public employee union, AFSCME, recanting the effort by acknowledging that the video was “over-the-top”. In a statement posted on the union’s website, the leadership said—

While we used poor judgment in directing our members’ attention to an Internet video that went over the top to make its point, we believe it is essential to bring attention to Barrett’s record on collective bargaining.

AFSCME is not a big fan of the Milwaukee mayor, charging that Barrett demanded too many concessions from the union in his role as his city’s chief executive. Still, in an election that promises to be very close, using such remarkably poor judgment at this stage of the game—when the union has so much to gain from the Governor’s defeat— can only benefit Walker’s effort to remain in office.

In response to the charge, Mayor Barrett said, “I have said I want to restore collective bargaining rights. So there’s no confusion, I support the restoration of collective bargaining rights in this state.”

While AFSCME certainly has every right to voice its opinions and its preference with respect to which candidate might better suit its needs and wants, it strikes me as shocking that this is how the union would pay back the many Wisconsin residents who participated in the successful grass-roots effort that collected over one million nine hundred thousand signatures in the drive to unseat the controversial governor.

Certainly these people deserve a primary process far better than one where the candidates, and their respective supporters, engage in tactics that tear down the possible nominee and only serves to benefit Scott Walker.

The attack has met with displeasure among a variety of top Democratic leaders in the state—including popular, former Representative Dave Obey who has endorsed Tom Barnett’s candidacy. Reacting to the charge, Obey said, “The misleading attack on Tom, distorting his record is outrageous. In suggesting that somehow Tom supported Scott Walker on collective bargaining is incredibly off the wall and unfair. Blaming Tom Barrett for the actions in the budget of Scott Walker is like blaming the surgeon for the surgery after the patient is hit by a truck.”

So, a big two thumbs down to AFSCME for losing its ability to see the forest for the trees and walking into so grave an unforced error.

The coming recall election is going to be close —very close. Why the leading public employee union would take such a step when it can only help Governor Walker hold onto his seat is simply beyond any reasonable comprehension.

The union should remember that while they will surely benefit from a Walker recall, this is not all about them. But for the efforts of the many people in Wisconsin—union and non-union— who have stood up against the Governor’s policies and agenda, there would be no recall. The least AFSCME, and the other public employee unions, can do is keep faith with all of those who have had their back. That means a little less selfishness and a lot more judgment than what they displayed this past week.contact Rick at thepolicypage@gmail.comTwitter @rickungar

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You’re either getting out in front of a Walker victory–or you realize Barrett has a much greater chance of beating Walker than does Falk–or you didn’t hear about the Falk (likely illegal) promises to the union. Whatever it is, I think your appeal will carry a lot of weight with AFSCME, as everyone knows how unselfish they are.

Yeah, it’s going to be fascinating to see how this affects the race. Given the spending by national unions (http://bit.ly/HlR6ly), and the promises demanded by unions in return for lobbying support (http://post.cr/zQr0CI), it’s been pretty clear what the agenda of the recall is. But how will this black and white approach to how the party deals with unions affect voters?

Say what you want about collective bargaining, but Walker’s legislation is working in many districts throughout the state (http://bit.ly/yMK0KM). To ignore using any of the improvements made by the legislation seems pretty nearsighted. You imagine that unions will come to their senses in regards to this antagonistic approach, but again, how will voters react once peering behind the curtain, so to speak.

Budget is 1/2 billion larger than the last. Debt to income is exceeding 5% (termed “not good”) and more debt bonding is in the works, both refinancing old debt AND accruing new debt..

Tools are in place to cut more and give more to the ever holy “job creators”.. which aren’t creating jobs….And who can blame them.. fewer customers w/ disposable income.. Fitzwalker is short sighted.. and has got to go. I’m not particularly worried about the union thing and personally would like to see Falk/Barrett gov.. lieut. gov (yes not as much fun as gov.). Draw straws… ;)

Notes: The June 9, 2011 LFB memo from Rob Reinhardt itemized the long-term consequences of these tax cuts for large corporations and the wealthy. The total LFB projection in lost revenue over ten years – over $2.3 Billion……… The state standard for debt-to-revenue ratio is no greater than 4%, with a target debt ratio of 3-3.5% of General Program Revenue. Table 2 in the linked memo shows the debt-to-revenue ratio projections. Debt ratio grows from 2.28% this year, to almost 5% next year. In 2013-2014, it grows to OVER 5%, even with a generous 4% growth in revenue. A debt-to-revenue ratio of over 5% is higher than ANY budget under Jim Doyle.

Unions are made up of individual members and then there are various levels of leadership, so it’s helpful to know what you’re talking about when you rail against “the unions”. I’m a rank-and-file AFSCME member and a Wis. state employee. I hold the leadership of my local union in high regard; I’ve usually been less thrilled with some of the people at the statewide level, the Wis. State Employees Union, and recent events haven’t changed that. I’ve been against the whole idea of the pledge to veto any budget that doesn’t restore collective bargaining for public employees from the first time I heard about it. I’m also a citizen of the state and I cannot support a candidate who agrees to hold a budget hostage in this manner. It’s really no different than some Republican candidate signing Grover Norquist’s no-taxes-ever-no-matter-what pledge.

I’m also sickened by this episode of mudslinging and I’ve let the WSEU leadership know it.

I understand that unions are dependent on dues to pay the staff and that public employee unions in Wisconsin are struggling to survive. They’re desperate and that may explain some of this behavior. I understand the motivation, but I will not say it justifies it.

But to say that collective bargaining itself is the problem? Ridiculous. Unions created the middle class. If union membership hadn’t declined so radically outside of the public sector, the working class wouldn’t be in the position it’s in now–struggling for crumbs from the 1%.

Rick’s article and your comment are spot on. Kathleen Falk’s signing of the pledge to veto any budget that doesn’t restore collective bargaining for public employees was a calculated move to bag union support early and make herself “inevitable,” in my opinion. It was also a horrible mistake. This recall is about so much more than collective bargaining, and Walker will not be removed from office if the election is all about the unions. Her signature on that pledge makes it just that, unfortunately.

I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with people who shake their heads at the mere mention of Kathleen Falk’s name. It’s always the same – “I really like Kathy, but… she can’t win it statewide.” I completely agree. It’s too bad someone like Kathleen Vinehout doesn’t seem to be getting much traction. Barrett is OK, though, certainly more likely than Falk to win.

Thanks for saying what many of us in unions are thinking– that our unions are throwing the members under the bus by engaging in this type of mud slinging. Barrett has pledged to run a positive campaign. The other candidates should welcome this and do the same. After all, the past year and a half will have been in vain if the Governor keeps his job!